TheCable

Yakubu Dogara, speaker of the house of representatives, says the country is losing competitive businesses to neighbouring countries due to poor business environment caused by bad laws and lack of infrastructure.

Dogara disclosed this when he received council members of the section of business law of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) at his office in Abuja.

The speaker charged the business lawyers to focus on deepening business laws in order to create a better environment for investment.

“We have lost competitive edge even in the West Africa region. Businesses have migrated to other areas with better business and legal regimes,” Turaki Hassan, Dogara’s special adviser on media and public affairs, quoted as saying.

“If we don’t put the right business environment in place, there’s no way we can attract investment to this country.”

Dogara added that the best way to go around the problem is by having forums to improve on the laws of the ‎country to reflect the dynamics of the present society and by eliminating unclear laws surrounding business transactions in the country.

He urged‎ the group to take advantage of the ongoing reform of the laws and statutes of Nigeria that the house is undergoing to make necessary amendments.

Earlier, Babatunde Ajibade, leader of the delegation, told their host that the council seeks to partner with the house of representatives in order to host a conference on law reform and economic development in Nigeria.